Process of making artificial lumber.



No. 663,056. Patented Dac. 4, I900.

J. A. WHEELER.

PROCESS OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL LUMBER.

(Application filed Aug. 21, 1899.)

(lo Iodai.)

gal-151528135: 5-8 Ziwwa,e,.

ATTORNEY FFlCE.

JAMES A. WHEELER, OF OSW'EGO, NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL LUMBER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 663, dated December 1900- Application at August 21,1899. Serial No. 727,940. (No specimens.)

To 0. whom it may concerni Be it known that 1, JAMES A. WHEELER, of

Oswego, in the county of Oswego, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Artificial Lumber, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is-to produce artificially imitations of different kinds of polished lumber, which imitations shall be hard and, durable, more fireproof than natural wood, and useful for flooring, wainscoting,

ceiling, doors, and numerous other purposesv for which polished natural lumber is desired; and to that end the invention consists in the novel process of producing said imitation, as hereinafter described and claimed.

in carrying out my said invention I proceed as follows: I first form the board or plank from a plastic cement, for which I have used with good success the compound described in my Patent No. 539,928, dated May 28, 1895.

I do not, however, limit my present invention to this special compound, as other analogous compounds may be employed for the same purpose. Said compound I tinge corresponding to the color of the wood to be imitated. The compound thus prepared I pack in a mold of the shape of the board or plank to be formed. After the board or plank is thus properly molded I remove it from the mold and then perfectly smooth it on the side which is to he finished. 1 next place it between metal dies and place it' with others similarly prepared in a suitable press to compact and dry the material. The die is heated, and the bottom plate thereof, upon which the hack of the molded board or plank rests, is perforated for the escape of moisture and steam. After the board or plank has been thus treated I apply to the smoothened face thereof a perfect imitation of the grain of the natural wood. Thisimitation of the grain I accomplish in the following manner,indicated in the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the natural board to be imitated; and Figs. 2 and 3 are side and plan views, respectively, of the artiiicial board with the roller for applying to said card a facsimile of the grain of the natural clean the board without removing the color-' ing-matter from the grain and pores. i then runa gelatin-faced roller R or other suitable elastic transferring-roller over the aforesaid face of the board, so as to obtain on' the surface of said roller a perfect impression of the aforesaid grain and pores. i then run said roller over the smoothened face of the aforesaid artificially-formed board or plank C,

and thereby transfer thereon the impression on the roller. In this manner I produce an artificial board or plank which is in appearance a perfect facsimile of the natural wood.

What I claim is The process of manufacturing imitations of natural lum her, the same consisting in preparing a plastic cement, tinging said cement corresponding to the color of the wood to be imitated, molding said cement in the form of a board or plank smoothing the surface thereof and drying and hardeningthe same, then taking a board of the natural wood, planing the same to expose the grain thereof, spreading over the planed surface a coatof thin coloring-matter to fill the grain and pores, removing the surplus coloring-matter from said surface, then running over said surface an elastic transferringroller and thereby producing an imprint of the grain on the roller, and then running said roller over the JAMES A. WHEELER. n sl 

